All polls align with Saints ranked No. 1

Tuesday

Jan 15, 2013 at 11:36 AMJan 15, 2013 at 11:38 AM

STAFF REPORTS

SAULT STE. MARIE — The Associated Press, the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, the Detroit Free Press, even the computers, all agree: St. Ignace girls are the team to beat this year.

The Saints are across the board the top Class D girls team in the state again, getting all five first-place votes from the AP and the UPSSA, and the top Class D spot in both the Detroit Free Press and MaxPreps.com rankings.

The Saints (10-0), with four wins over Class A competition, crushed Cedarville 71-26 on Monday night to reach the halfway point of the season unbeaten. The Saints have won 47 straight regular-season games and haven't lost to a U.P. team since Marquette on Dec. 4, 2009.

DeTour (7-0) entered the state poll at No. 10 and holds down the No. 5 spot in the U.P. poll. Forest Park (10-0) is No. 2 in the state poll, and Superior Central (10-0) is No. 4.

In the boys Class D poll, Cedarville (7-1) lost a first-place vote but remained a unanimous No. 2 pick. Brimley (8-1) stayed at third, although a poll shakeup is in order this week after unanimous No. 1 Carney-Nadeau (7-0) was upset by Munising on Monday. In the state poll, the Wolves are fourth, the Trojans are fifth, and Lake Linden-Hubbell (7-0) snuck in at No. 10.

In the boys Class ABC poll, Sault High's monumental upset of then-unbeaten and No. 1 Marquette did little to change things, and the Blue Devils (5-3) picked up just one vote — from The Evening News — and Marquette lost just one place on one ballot. The Redmen (7-1) are the top team in the boys poll, while Marquette (8-2) is also the top team in the girls poll. Negaunee boys (7-1) are No. 10 in Class C, and the Houghton girls (8-1) are No. 9.